BACKLASH AT MERKEL: Migrant policy has caused divisions and rise of AfP, says Schulz
MARTIN Schulz conceded defeat in the German state elections with an admission that the country’s open-door immigration possibly had divided the nation and led to the success of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
By ROSS LOGAN
Express.co.uk
Sun, Sep 24, 2017
Exit polls have revealed Angela Merkel will remain Chancellor but her victory has been overshadowed by the far-right AfD winning its first seats in the Bundestag.
Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party gained 32.9 per cent of seats, her coalition Social Democrats Party (SPD) led by former EU leader Martin Schulz, gained 20.2 per cent and the AfD 13.3 per cent.
The AfD is now the third largest party in the Bundestag after it gained 119,000 votes from citizens who had previously not voted, and almost a million from the CDU.
Mrs Merkel was predicted to gain more seats, however, many Germans blame her for allowing hundreds of thousands of migrants into the country two years ago during her open-door policy.
Mr Schulz, in his concession speech, said the immigration policy had led to the “depressing” rise of the AfD, whose leader has made pro-Nazi comments.
Mr Schulz said: “Depressing for us is the strength of the AfD.
“For the first time a right-wing party will be in German parliament. This is difficult, no democrat can just gloss over that.
“It is clear accepting more than one million refugees in our country is still dividing the country.
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